Over a testing few years – from the coronavirus pandemic to the Russian invasion of Ukraine – the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) and Volleyball World have had to postpone and rearrange several major competitions in the volleyball calendar. One significant change was to take the Men’s World Volleyball Championship away from the original host Russia and remove the Volleyball Federation of Russia (VFR) from the tournament after the invasion in Europe. The FIVB was quick to introduce Ukraine into the competition as the replacement for Russia since they are the highest placed men’s team in the official FIVB Senior World Rankings below other qualified teams.
The championship will still take place across its original dates from 26 August-11 September but has been relocated to Poland and Slovenia and with tickets starting at just PLN zł49 (GBP £9 / EUR €10) or EUR €20 (£17) and covering several games, it’s a great value sporting event! Pool A and C games will be held at Spodek, in the Polish city of Katowice. Pool B, D, E, and F games will be held at Arena Stožice in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Both of these venues will also host knockout stage matches. The final-round knockout will be held at Arena Gliwice in Gliwice, Poland. The first round pools are as follows:
- Pool A: Ukraine, Serbia, Tunisia, Puerto Rico
- Pool B: Brazil, Japan, Cuba, Qatar
- Pool C: Poland, United States, Mexico, Bulgaria
- Pool D: France, Slovenia, Germany, Cameroon
- Pool E: Italy, Canada, Turkey, China
- Pool F: Argentina, Iran, Netherlands, Egypt
The semifinals, third place game, and final take place at Spodek from 10-11 September. A total of 24 teams participate in the final tournament and with title holders Poland now co-hosting the event, will they come out on top again?
As originally planned, Poland – including Arena Gliwice – will also host some of the matches in the Women’s World Volleyball Championship (23 September-15 October) along with co-hosts the Netherlands. Pool A and D will be held at GelreDome in Arnhem, Netherlands, Pool B at the Ergo Arena in Gdansk, Poland, and Pool C at the Atlas Arena and Łódź Sport Arena in Łódź. The latter two venues also host second round matches along with Rotterdam’s Ahoy Arena, while some final round matches will be held at Omnisport in Apeldoorn, Netherlands. Multi-event tickets covering several games start at just EUR €4 (£3.50) The first round pools are as follows:
- Pool A: Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Puerto Rico, Cameroon, Kenya
- Pool B: Poland, Turkey, Dominican Republic, South Korea, Thailand, Croatia
- Pool C: United States, Serbia, Germany, Bulgaria, Canada, Kazakhstan
- Pool D: Brazil, China, Japan, Colombia, Argentina, Czechia
The semifinals of the Women’s World Championship take place at Arena Gliwice from 12-13 October followed by the third place game and the final at GelreDome on 15 October. Like the men’s equivalent, this championship will see 24 teams vying for the world title.
Check out the Men's World Championship here and the Women's World Championship here!